Arsenal missed the chance to draw level on points with Manchester City at the top of the table after Lewis Grabban’s equaliser earned a point for Norwich. The Gunners were gifted the lead when John Ruddy’s poor clearance allowed Alexis Sanchez to set up Mesut Ozil. But the visitors were pegged back by Grabban, who received Robbie Brady’s defence-splitting pass and held off the challenge of Gabriel to fire in. Injuries to Laurent Koscielny and Alexis Sanchez deepened Arsenal’s woes.

Centre-back Koscielny was forced off in the first half with a hip injury, while forward Sanchez hobbled off after the interval with an apparent hamstring problem. The Gunners are now two points off the lead in fourth and manager Arsene Wenger may come under renewed pressure to bolster his squad in January to sustain their title challenge. Norwich, meanwhile, remain 16th but will be buoyed by a display full of heart and determination. An evening that could ultimately prove damaging to their title aspirations started well for Arsenal as Ruddy’s error gave them a deserved lead. Before the match, the England goalkeeper had addressed criticism of some recent indifferent performances, saying: “I don’t think I have been as good [this season] as I have been previously, but form is temporary.” But his hopes of earning Norwich just a second clean sheet in 14 matches were dashed as he scuffed a clearance to Gary O’Neil.

Sanchez nipped in to dispossess the Norwich captain and threaded a through-ball to Ozil, who clipped a deft first-time finish over the goalkeeper. The Germany midfielder has now had a hand in 13 goals in his last 12 league games, with 11 assists and two efforts of his own. But his well-taken goal was just one facet of a hugely impressive performance, in which he misplaced only one of his 68 passes despite making 57 of them in the Norwich half. And the 27-year-old could be an increasingly important figure in the coming weeks following the injuries to Koscielny and Sanchez. Arsenal face a must-win Champions League encounter against Olympiakos on 9 December and Wenger will be counting on Ozil to shoulder extra responsibility in midfield if Sanchez is ruled out. Defensive midfielder Francis Coquelin is expected to be out for three months after suffering ligament damage, while Jack Wilshere, Tomas Rosicky, Mikel Arteta, Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck are also sidelined.

So Alexis, Kos and Coq out injured! In any decently run club there would an investigation to the injury crisis. But the board at Arsenal do not give a fuck. They don’t want to challenge for the league. Fuck them and fuck Wenger. If we don’t buy in January kiss goodbye to the challenge of a league title.

Arsenal’s Champions League hopes are still alive after they eased to victory against Dinamo Zagreb at Emirates Stadium. The Gunners needed to win and hope that Bayern Munich beat Olympiakos to ensure that a victory by two goals – or by a margin of one if they score three goals – in Greece in their final group game would send them into the knockout phase. Bayern fulfilled their part of the bargain and Arsenal had no trouble with a Dinamo side who beat them in the earlier fixture in Croatia. Man of the match Mesut Ozil headed them in front after 29 minutes and Alexis Sanchez added a second four minutes later before the Chile forward rounded off a fine second half move to give Arsenal the convincing win their superiority deserved.

Midfielder Ozil has had his critics since making the £42.4m move to Arsenal from Real Madrid in September 2013 – but he has arguably been the Gunners’ most influential player this season. The elegant Germany international has become the goal-maker supreme, setting a Premier League record with an assist in his seventh successive game when Olivier Giroud put Arsenal ahead at West Bromwich Albion on Saturday. And he was pulling all the strings here as Arsenal kept their Champions League campaign on track, not only by displaying a wonderful range of perfectly-measured passing, but by breaking the deadlock and easing nerves inside the stadium with his diving header. Ozil’s languid style sees him painted as something of an enigma, but when he moves so silkily, dictating the tempo in this fashion, he looks a player of the highest quality.

Arsenal did not only get a world-class forward when they paid Barcelona £32m after the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, they acquired a character who can set the tone for a performance with his work ethic and desire. He proved it here, not just with two goals but with his relentless determination to win the ball back when possession was lost, a prime example being in the first half when he chased back 40 yards down Arsenal’s left-flank to make three tackles before eventually securing the ball. Arsenal are more than capable of getting the victory they require against Olympiakos in Athens to go through to the knockout phase of the Champions League. They possess more quality than the Greek side – but can they deliver when it matters?

In the wake of the 3 month layoff due to injury for Francois Coquelin, Arsenal have dossiers of holding midfielders to consult if they look to sign a replacement for their injured pillar in midfielder in January, according to the Daily Mail. Arsene Wenger reportedly has a shortlist of six players including internationals Lars Bender, William Carvalho, Grzegorz Krychowiak and Lucas Biglia alongside French youngsters Vincent Koziello and Nampalys Mendy.

Arsenal wasted the chance to go top of the Premier League as West Brom fought back from a goal down to beat them at The Hawthorns. The visitors took the lead through Olivier Giroud, who headed in Mesut Ozil’s free-kick from the right. James Morrison volleyed past Petr Cech to level before Mikel Arteta diverted James McClean’s cross into his own net. Santi Cazorla could have secured a point from the penalty spot, but he slipped at the crucial moment. Victory moves Tony Pulis’ side up to 12th, while Arsenal’s first league defeat since 19 September sees them slip to fourth.

The match at The Hawthorns was supposed to be the start of a winning run that would see them go on beat Norwich, Sunderland and Aston Villa. But, alas, they have stumbled once again. The Gunners had 73% possession and 11 efforts on goal. Two of those should have been converted, with substitute Joel Campbell missing from four yards and Cazorla slipping as he went to take a spot-kick. Injuries have cost Arsenal time and time again in recent years. Indeed, when Aaron Ramsey was sidelined in December 2013, the Gunners’ title hopes were damaged. They have a stronger squad now, but any team missing players of the calibre of Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Danny Welbeck and Jack Wilshere would find it hard to sustain a title challenge. Here, midfielders Mikel Arteta and Francis Coquelin came off with injuries. Arteta had replaced Coquelin in the 14th minute. Arsene Wenger’s squad is not yet threadbare, but he cannot afford any more injuries over the next five weeks.

Ozil has provided an assist in seven consecutive Premier League appearances, the most in the division’s history but that did little to uplift the visiting fans. Arsenal face Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League this week before are away to Norwich on Sunday. The loss means Arsenal slip to 4th in the ranking with 26 points after 13 games. January cannot come sooner for the Arsenal faithful and hopefully there will be proper reinforcements.